EXCLUSIVE: Rahul Bose THRILLED with response to his WILD comedy in Udta Teer: “From glorious heights of Mr & Mrs Iyer, I have now become a slapstick comedian!”; reveals why his scenes were kept out of the trailer: “People asked, ‘Tumhara role kat gaya kya?’”
Rahul Bose is known for his serious, no-nonsense persona, though he has tickled the audience’s funny bone in the past. However, in Udta Teer, he has surprised moviegoers like never before. He plays M D Burman, head of the Counter Terrorism Squad (CTS), who slips into a coma just as he discovers the protagonist (Ayushmann Khurrana) is a Pakistani spy. From this point onwards, his eyes do all the talking, leaving audiences in splits. Meanwhile, the Pakistani spy loses his memory and begins believing that he is an Indian patriot. A hilarious sequence in which he saves M D Burman in the hospital brought the house down. In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, Rahul Bose opened up about the overwhelming response to his performance, and much more.
You have played funny roles in the past. But is the kind of response you’ve received for Udta Teer unlike anything you’ve experienced before?
Honestly, I haven’t done comedy like this before. It’s physical comedy that almost borders on mime because there are no dialogues. So, it was very different from what most actors do in cinema, forget about me. I asked Aakash (writer-director Aakash A Kaushik), ‘Why would you cast someone like me?’. He replied, ‘That’s because with you, nobody is expecting the film to turn funny’. My character comes across as very serious. He’s the head of the CTS. It’s a typical Rahul Bose kind of role, which I played earlier in Berlin (2024). Hence, no one can imagine what happens to this character. Aakash said, ‘If I had cast a renowned comedy actor, people would know that ab kuch funny aane waala hain. Nahin toh iss actor ko kyun cast karte?’. I felt that this was a very intelligent reply to my question.
Then, he said, ‘I saw you on a game show where the audience had to find out who the liar was’. I forgot the name of the show. There were eight of us. Questions were asked to us throughout the day, and then the audience had to decide who the most truthful person was. I won that show, though I lied throughout! He remarked, ‘I was so shocked because we thought you were speaking the truth. However, you were lying the whole time. If a guy can do that with his eyes, then I am very confident he can pull this off’.
How was it shooting the crazy scenes in the movie?
For me, personally, it was very interesting. Don’t forget that all those scenes were not in the script. The script would simply say that ‘Ayushmann saves Rahul in the hospital’. But hospital bed pe kya hota hai, defibrillator pads ke saath kya hota hain, Rahul ke taang ke saath woh kisko maarta hain, Rahul kispe girta hain, etc., were all improvised.
The morgue sequence was written, the one where my character kisses the dead body! However, the lift door banging on his head ten times was not written in the script. So, that whole action sequence was designed by the action director, keeping comedy in mind. I had to prepare accordingly. When the lift door kept banging against the side of my head, I made sure that my expression was different every single time so that people would find it amusing.
The same happened with the love track. The script only mentioned that Holkar (Smita Tambe) was in love with my character. How he reacts, how their track develops and how it reaches the point where he’s in a wheelchair and gives her a rose were also not entirely on the page.
So, you have to see how it works out. The best way to know whether or not it’s working is to see whether the unit laughs. The unit gets tired by the time we go for the third take, fourth take, sometimes even the eighteenth take. They don’t really pay attention. But if the unit laughs, then you know you’re in a good space. They already know what’s coming and what the shot is, and yet they’re laughing.
On stage, I started my career doing physical comedy. That was in 1990, 36 years ago. So, it was not unfamiliar territory for me. However, I knew that in my cinema career, this would be something new. I am grateful to Aakash for thinking of me. I told him, ‘From the glorious heights of Mr & Mrs Iyer (2002), I have now become a slapstick comedian. This is on you!’ (smiles).
Thankfully, your funniest scenes were not shown in the trailer. That added to the surprise…
A lot of people saw the trailer and told me, ‘Didn’t you tell us that you are in the film? But you are hardly there in the trailer. Tumhara role kat gaya kya?’. I assured them, ‘Aap film dekho. Phir aapko pata chalega’. But that sounds like something a loser would say! And now, looking at the feedback, I think not showing me was a good strategy.
Udta Teer has a scene where you mistakenly kiss a dead body. Even the sequence where your head bangs on the lift floor could be considered a bit too extreme by some viewers. Did you ever fear trolling or criticism? After all, these days, almost anything can invite criticism on social media…
There was no fear as such. You may see one funny scene and you’ll be like, ‘Ha ha ha ha. Theek hai’. However, it’s actually a performance. He does a lot, including dancing to ‘It’s The Time To Disco‘! That’s when people realize that this is a performance and not just an item. If it was an item, then people would wonder, ‘What is wrong with this guy? What is he doing with his career?’. That didn’t happen in the case of Udta Teer because it’s a performance. Somebody told me, ‘I saw you in Bulbbul (2020), and now I see you here, and my mind is completely scrambled’.
Hence, I wouldn’t have done this role had Aakash not assured me that this was a proper performance and not just one scene where you come in as an item. I had faith in Aakash, and he lived up to his word. In fact, he even increased my role after seeing the rough cut.
There’s also an amusing track involving unrequited love between your character and Holkar. If Udta Teer gets a sequel, could we finally see their romance blossom?
(Laughs) Firstly, I don’t know if there’s a part 2. If there’s a sequel, Aakash will definitely find a way to present me in yet another absolutely ridiculous avatar! I am sure, as he has a very funny and twisted mind.
I have worked with 15 first-time directors, starting with Dev Benegal (English, August; 1994), Saket Chaudhary (Pyaar Ke Side Effects; 2006), Sujoy Ghosh (Jhankaar Beats; 2003), Anvita Dutt (Bulbbul; 2020), Vinta Nanda (White Noise; 2005), Anil Senior (Dil Kabaddi; 2008), etc. I look for some madness in these debutant directors. They don’t have anything else to show except for that spark. Their films are quite pure. Even my first film as a director, Everybody Says I’m Fine (2001), was also very pure. So, it’s great fun working with first-time directors, though there’s also a risk involved.
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